Method for line up contents of media equipment, and apparatus thereof

ABSTRACT

A content arranging method and apparatus in a media equipment and recording medium that stores a program source associated with the method are provided. The content arranging method includes extracting time information associated with stored contents from meta data of each of the stored contents, classifying the stored contents based on the extracted time information and a time interval for arranging the stored contents, determining at least one time item corresponding to the time interval, and arranging each of the classified contents under a corresponding time item. The method arranges the stored contents in the media equipment based on a time so that a user readily retrieves a desired content.

PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed on May 18, 2012 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial No. 10-2012-0052829, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for arrangingcontents in a media equipment. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to a recoding medium that stores a program source associatedwith the method.

2. Description of the Related Art

As information communication technologies have developed, the use ofvarious types of media devices, such as a smart phone and the like, hasincreased. A software platform is widely used and many applications areprovided and thus, the media equipment or devices may include variousfunctions.

Among the various functions, applications for capturing and transferringa still picture, viewing and transferring a moving picture, and the likehave increased rapidly. Accordingly, use of an application forretrieving and managing content such as a still picture, a movingpicture, and the like has also been increased.

According to a conventional method that retrieves content such as astill picture, a moving picture, and the like, functions or applicationsincluded in the media equipment which arrange the content are complex.

Therefore, a user may need to expend much effort searching for a desiredcontent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentinvention is to provide a method of readily retrieving a content in amedia equipment.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a contentarranging method that improves user experience in a media equipment.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a contentarranging method in a media equipment is provided. The method includesextracting time information associated with a corresponding content frommeta data of each of the stored contents, classifying the storedcontents based on the extracted time information and a time interval forarranging the contents, determining at least one time item correspondingto the time interval, and arranging each of the classified contentsunder a corresponding time item.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a contentarranging apparatus in a media equipment is provided. The apparatusincludes a memory unit storing at least one content, and a controller toextract time information associated with a corresponding content frommeta data of each of the stored contents, to classify the storedcontents based on the extracted time information and a time interval forarranging the stored contents, to determine at least one time itemcorresponding to the time interval, and to arrange each of theclassified contents under a corresponding time item.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, aprocessor-readable medium stores a program for extracting timeinformation associated with a corresponding content from meta data ofeach of the stored contents, classifying the stored contents based onthe extracted time information and a time interval for arranging thestored contents, determining at least one time item corresponding to thetime interval, and arranging each of the classified contents under acorresponding time item.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, contentsstored in a media equipment are arranged based on a time so that a usermay readily retrieve a desired content.

Also, according to embodiments of the present invention, a user mayreadily retrieve a content satisfying a desired filtering condition.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a content arranging method accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating a process of displaying a timeitem and arranged contents according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a content arranging method accordingto another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of displaying a time item, asub-time item, and arranged contents according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A through 6C are diagrams illustrating a process of displayingcontents according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 7 through 13 are diagrams illustrating a process of displayingcontents satisfying a filtering condition according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a content arranging apparatusaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the embodiments described hereincan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. In addition descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of theinvention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention is provided for illustration purpose only and not forthe purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claimsand their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

As described in the foregoing, according to a conventional contentarranging method, a user may have difficulty in retrieving a desiredcontent.

Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide amethod of arranging contents based on a time, so that the user mayreadily retrieve a content.

In addition, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide amethod of arranging only contents satisfying a filtering conditiondesired by a user, so that the user may readily retrieve a desiredcontent.

Hereinafter, in the descriptions of embodiments of the presentinvention, it is assumed that a media equipment is equipped with a touchscreen.

Hereinafter, the media equipment is a device that is capable ofperforming at least one of recording, displaying, and playing back amedia, and includes a portable phone, a smart phone, a navigation, aPersonal Digital assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), aMoving Picture Experts Group layer 3 (MP3) player, a game console, atablet, a netbook, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, acommunication terminal that is capable of accessing Internet, acommunication terminal that is capable of receiving broadcasts, and thelike.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a content arranging method accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, thecontent arranging method according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

In step 101, a media equipment proceeds with step 103 when a contentdisplay request is received from a user. The content display requestindicates that the user requests displaying a list or the contents of acontent corresponding to at least one type of a text, an audio, animage, an animation, and a video stored in the media equipment. Thecontent display request may be requested by manipulating a buttonincluded in one side of the media equipment or by selecting a menu on adisplay area of the media equipment.

In step 103, the media equipment extracts time information of eachstored contents and proceeds with step 105. The time information of eachcontent may be extracted from meta data associated with each content.The time information of each content may be, for example, a creationtime of a corresponding content. According to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention, the time information of each content may indicatea correction time corresponding to a most recent time when acorresponding content is corrected, or a move-in time corresponding to atime when a corresponding content is transferred to the media equipment.

In step 105, the media equipment classifies the contents based on theextracted time information and a time interval for arranging thecontents, and proceeds with step 107. The time interval for arrangingthe contents may indicate a criterion that determines a time unit to beused for classifying the stored contents. The time interval forarranging the contents may be adjusted by the user, which will bedescribed in detail with reference to associated drawings.

In step 107, the media equipment determines a time item corresponding tothe time interval for arranging the contents, and proceeds with step109. The time item may be a criterion to be used for arranging theclassified contents. For example, when the time interval for arrangingthe contents is a year, the time item may be determined to be 2008,2009, 2010, 2011, and the like. Also, when the time interval forarranging the contents is, for example, a month, the time item may bedetermined to be June 2011, July 2011, August 2011, and the like.

In step 109, the media equipment arranges the classified contents underthe time item and proceeds with step 111. Here, arranging under the timeitem indicates that each of the contents classified based on the timeinterval for arranging the contents is arranged under a correspondingtime item. For example, when the time interval for arranging thecontents is a year, the time item is determined to be 2008, 2009, 2010,and 2011, and time information extracted from a content is Oct. 10,2011, the media equipment arranges the corresponding content under anitem of 2011.

In step 111, the media equipment may display the determined time itemand the classified contents on a set display area. An example ofdisplaying the determined time item and the classified contents will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a process of displaying a time item andarranged contents according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

When the time item and the arranged contents are displayed, a mediaequipment may display the time item on a first display area 210 and maydisplay the arranged contents on a second display area 220. Here, thefirst display area 210 and the second display area 220 are located in adisplay area 200 of the media equipment, and the areas are distinguishedfrom each other.

When the time item is displayed on the first display area 210, the mediaequipment may display a predetermined number of time items. For example,when 11 time items from 2001 to 2011 are determined based on a year, themedia equipment may display a predetermined number of time items, forexample, 4 time items. FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which 4 timeitems, that is, ‘2008’, ‘2009’, ‘2010’, and ‘2011’ are displayed. Anumber of displayed time items may be predetermined, or may bedetermined by a user.

The media equipment may move a time item according to a swiping motionof the user performed on the first display area 210. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 2, in a state where the time items, that is, ‘2008’,‘2009’, ‘2010’, and ‘2011’ are displayed, when the user performs aswiping motion to the right on the first display area 210, the mediaequipment may display time items corresponding to previous years, forexample, ‘2004’, ‘2005’, ‘2006’, and ‘2007’.

A time interval for arranging contents may be adjusted by the user. Forexample, the time interval for arranging the contents may be changedaccording to a pinch motion of the user performed on the first displayarea 210.

For example, when the user presses two points on the first display area210 using two fingers and moves both fingers in outward directions 214 aand 214 b, the media equipment may decrease the time interval. Forexample, in the case where the time interval is a year as illustrated inFIG. 2, when the user presses two points on the first display area 210using two fingers and moves both fingers in outward directions 214 a and214 b, the media equipment may decrease the time interval to a month asillustrated in FIG. 3.

When the user presses the two points on the first display area 210 usingtwo fingers and moves both fingers in inward directions 214 c and 214 d,the media equipment may increase the time interval. For example, in thecase where the time interval is a month as illustrated in FIG. 3, whenthe user presses two points on the first display area 210 using twofingers and moves both fingers in inward directions 214 c and 214 d, themedia equipment may increase the time interval to a year as illustratedin FIG. 2.

Depending on the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, theuser may adjust the time interval by selecting a predetermined menu 212displayed on the first display area 210.

When the arranged contents are displayed on the second display area 220,the media equipment may display each content to correspond to acorresponding time item. For example, when the time item is displayed onthe first display area 210 widthwise, the media equipment may displaycontents of each time item under each time item lengthwise on the seconddisplay area 220. For example, contents 222 are contents correspondingto time item ‘2008’, and contents 224 are contents corresponding to timeitem ‘2009’.

When contents are displayed on the second display area 220, the mediaequipment may display a predetermined number of contents. For example,the media equipment may display a predetermined number of contents, forexample, 3 contents, for each time item. The number of contentsdisplayed for each time item may be predetermined, or may be determinedby the user.

The media equipment may move a content according to a swiping motion ofthe user performed on the second display area 220. For example, in thecase where four or more contents correspond to the time item ‘2008’,when the user performs a swiping motion in a downward direction on thesecond display area 220, the media equipment may display subsequentcontents corresponding to the time item ‘2008’.

When the contents are displayed, the media equipment may display eachcontent in a form of a thumbnail. For this, the media equipment mayextract a thumbnail from metadata associated with a correspondingcontent so as to display the thumbnail, or may create a thumbnailassociated with a corresponding content so as to display the thumbnail.

As described in the foregoing, the content arranging method according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described.Recently, a memory capacity of the media equipment has been increasedand thus, a large amount of content may be stored. Therefore, when thecontents are arranged, more detailed classification may be required.Hereinafter, a content arranging method that arranges contents by finelydividing a time item will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a content arranging method accordingto another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter,the content arranging method according to another embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention to be described withreference to FIG. 4 describes dividing each time item into a pluralityof sub-time items, and arranging contents under a sub-time item. Thismay enable a user to readily determine contents when a large amount ofcontent is stored in the media equipment.

Steps 401 through 407 are identical to step 101 through step 107 of FIG.1 and thus, the descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In step 409, the media equipment divides a time interval for arrangingcontents into a plurality of sub-time intervals, and proceeds with step411. For example, when the time interval for arranging contents is ayear, the media content may divide the time interval for arrangingcontents into sub-time intervals of months. A rule for dividing the timeinterval into the sub-time intervals, for example, a rule associatedwith whether a time interval of a year is divided into sub-timeintervals of months or into sub-time intervals of a quarter, may bechanged based on settings. When the time interval is adjusted accordingto a pinch motion of the user, the sub-time interval may be adjustedaccording to the pinch motion.

In step 411, the media equipment determines a sub-time itemcorresponding to the sub-time interval, and proceeds with step 413. Forexample, when the sub-time interval is a month, the media equipment maydetermine the sub-time item to be June, July, August, September, and thelike.

In step 413, the media equipment arranges the sub-time item under thetime item, arranges classified contents under the sub-time item, andproceeds with step 415. For example, when the time item is 2008, 2009,2010, and 2011, the sub-time item is June, July, August, and September,and time information extracted from a content is August 2009, the mediaequipment may arrange the sub-time item ‘August’ under the time item‘2009’, and arranges a corresponding content under the sub-time item‘August’.

In step 415, the media equipment may display the time item, the sub-timeitem, and arranged contents. An example of displaying the time item, thesub-time item, and arranged contents will be described with reference toFIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of displaying a time item, asub-time item, and arranged contents according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

When the time item, the sub-time item, and the arranged contents aredisplayed, the media equipment may display the time item on the firstdisplay area 210, and may display the sub-time item and the arrangedcontents on the second display area 220. Determining and moving the timeitem, adjusting the time interval, and the like have been described withreference to FIG. 2 and thus, the detailed description thereof will beomitted.

When the sub-time item and the arranged contents are displayed on thesecond display area 220, the media equipment displays the sub-time itemand contents corresponding to the sub-time item to correspond to thetime item. For example, in the case where the time item is displayed onthe first display area 210 widthwise as illustrated in FIG. 5, the mediaequipment may display corresponding sub-time items for each time itemand corresponding contents for each sub-time item under each time item,lengthwise. Referring to FIG. 5, ‘3’, ‘4’, and ‘5’ are arranged assub-time items of a time item ‘2008’. The sub-time items ‘3’, ‘4’, and‘5’ may correspond to March, April, and May, respectively. Similarly,other sub-time items may be used to indicate the respective months ofthe year, such as for example ‘1’ for January and ‘12’ for December.

When the arranged contents are displayed on the second display area 220,the media equipment may display all contents of each sub-time item. Wheneach sub-time item has a large number of contents, the media equipmentmay display an image in a form of a folder 226 indicating that aplurality of contents exist in a corresponding sub-time item. When theimage in the form of a folder 226 is displayed, thumbnails of a fewcontents of the corresponding sub-time item may be displayed in theimage in the form of a folder. When a single content corresponding to asub-time item exists, the corresponding content may be displayed in aform of a thumbnail ‘9’.

Moving a content according to a swiping motion of the user performed onthe second display area 220 has been described with reference to FIG. 2and thus, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 through 5, contents are arranged based on timeinformation of the contents and thus, the user may readily retrieve acontent.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention described withreference to FIGS. 1 through 5, when one of a time item and a sub-timeitem is selected, the media equipment may display only contentscorresponding to the selected time item or the selected sub-time item,which will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A through 6C.

The media equipment displays, on the first display area 210, a selectedtime item or a selected sub-time item, and may display, on the seconddisplay area 220, thumbnails of contents corresponding to the selectedtime item or the selected sub-time item, as illustrated in FIG. 6A.

The media equipment may display, on the entire second display area 220,the contents of a corresponding content, as opposed to displaying thethumbnail of the content, as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

The media equipment may display the contents of a corresponding contenton the entire display area 200, as illustrated in FIG. 6C.

The displayed content may be moved according to a swiping motion of auser, from the display state of FIGS. 6A through 6C. For example, whenit is assumed that three or more contents correspond to a time item‘2011/10’ indicating October 2011 in the display state of FIG. 6A, and aswiping motion of the user performed in an upward direction or adownward direction on the display area 200, the media equipment maydisplay a previous content or a subsequent content of the contentscorresponding to the time item ‘2011/10’.

For example, when a swiping motion of the user performed to the left onthe display area 200 is recognized in the display state of FIGS. 6Athrough 6C, the media equipment may display contents corresponding to asubsequent time item, for example, a time item ‘2011/11’ indicatingNovember 2011. Conversely, when a swiping motion of the user performedto the right on the display area 200 is recognized, the media equipmentmay display contents corresponding to a previous time item, for example,a time item ‘2011/9’ indicating September 2011.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention described withreference to FIGS. 1 through 5, when a motion of a user that directlyselects a displayed content is recognized as opposed to selecting a timeitem or a sub-time item, the media equipment may display thecorresponding content in a form as illustrated in FIG. 6B or FIG. 6C. Inthis example, the content may be moved according to a swiping motionperformed to the left, to the right, up, or down.

The media equipment may provide a filtering menu for filtering contentsarranged based on a time. For example, when a menu displayed on thefirst display area 210 is selected, the media equipment may displayfiltering menus on the second display area 220. Subsequently, when afiltering menu is selected by the user, the media equipment may providea settings screen associated with the corresponding filtering menu tothe user. When a filtering condition is set by the user, the mediaequipment may display only contents satisfying the set filteringcondition. One or more filtering conditions may be selected.

For example, the filtering condition may include a period, a season, aweather, a location, a device, a person, a type, and the like.Hereinafter, the filtering condition will be described in detail.

The period is a filtering condition for arranging and displayingcontents created during a predetermined period. For example, when theuser selects a filtering condition ‘period’, and sets a period forfiltering to a period from January 2010 to December 2011, the mediaequipment may arrange and display contents corresponding to the periodbetween January 2010 and December 2011, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

The season is a filtering condition for arranging and displayingcontents created during a predetermined season. For example, when theuser selects a filtering condition ‘season’, and sets a season forfiltering to ‘winter’, the media equipment may arrange and displaycontents between December and February corresponding to winter, asillustrated in FIG. 8.

The weather is a filtering condition for arranging and displayingcontents created during a predetermined weather. For example, when theuser selects a filtering condition ‘weather’, and sets a weather forfiltering to a ‘rainy day’, the media equipment may display contentscreated during a rainy day, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Accordingly, themedia equipment may collect weather information from a weather server ofthe Meteorological Office that stores daily weather information of awide range of period. The weather information may be collected,periodically or every time that the filtering condition ‘weather’ isselected. Also, the collected weather information may be stored in themedia equipment.

When the filtering condition is set to ‘rainy day’ and the weatherinformation is collected, the media equipment detects whether a contentcreated during a rainy day exists. When a content created during a rainyday exists, the media equipment may determine a corresponding day to bea sub-time item, and may display associated contents.

The location is a filtering condition for arranging and displayingcontents created in a predetermined location. For example, when the userselects a filtering condition ‘location’ and sets a location forfiltering to ‘Seoul’, the media equipment may display contents createdin Seoul, as illustrated in FIG. 10. Recently, media equipments storemeta data indicating a location where a corresponding content isgenerated, together with the corresponding content when the content iscreated and thus, a location condition may be extracted from meta dataof each content.

The device is a filtering condition for arranging and displayingcontents created by a predetermined device. For example, the filteringcondition is associated with whether to arrange and display contentscreated by a corresponding device or to arrange and display contentsdownloaded from another device. For example, when the user selects afiltering condition ‘device’, and sets a device for filtering to‘corresponding device’, the media equipment may display contents createdby the corresponding device, as illustrated in FIG. 11. Recently, mediaequipments store meta data indicating a device where a correspondingcontent is created, together with the corresponding content when thecontent is created and thus, a device condition may be extracted frommeta data of each content.

The person is a filtering condition for arranging and displayingcontents associated with a predetermined person. For example, when theuser selects a filtering condition ‘person’, and sets a person forfiltering to ‘Hong Gildong’, the media equipment may display contentsassociated with Hong Gildong, as illustrated in FIG. 12. For example,when a content is an image, the media equipment may display thecorresponding image by determining whether a person corresponding to‘Hong Gildong’ exists in the corresponding image. Accordingly, the mediaequipment may use a face recognition technology contained in the mediaequipment. A face recognition technology available in the mediaequipment may include, for example, a knowledge-based method, afeature-based method, and the like, but the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention are not limited thereto.

A predetermined person may be set as a filtering condition by inputtinga text. For example, when the user inputs a name of ‘Hong Gildong’ andan image associated with Hong Gildong is stored in the media equipment,the media equipment may detect whether a person corresponding to HongGildong exists in the corresponding image by applying the facerecognition technology. In this example, a predetermined group which isgrouped in advance may be set to be a filtering condition as opposed tosetting a predetermined person to be a filtering condition.

A predetermined person may be set as a filtering condition by selectinga predetermined image. For example, when the user selects apredetermined person included in a predetermined image, the mediaequipment may apply the face recognition technology to the predeterminedperson selected from the predetermined image, and may detect whether animage including the selected predetermined person exists.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when manypersons are selected, the media equipment may display an image includingone of the corresponding persons, or may display only an image includingall the selected persons, or may display only an image excludingcorresponding persons, which depends on settings.

The type is a filtering condition for arranging and displaying contentscorresponding to a predetermined type. For example, when the userselects a filtering condition ‘type’, and sets a type for filtering tobe ‘document’, the media equipment may display contents of which filetypes are the document, as illustrated in FIG. 13.

The set filtering condition may be canceled by selecting a menudisplayed on a display area, or by a swiping motion of the userperformed on the display area or the like. For example, when the userpresses a point on the first display area 210 and performs a swipingmotion to a bottom point on the second display area 220, all the setfiltering conditions may be cancelled.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention described withreference to FIGS. 1 through 13, the media equipment may display a menufor returning to a previous screen. When the user selects the menu forreturning to the previous screen, the media equipment may return to ascreen that is previously displayed. In this example, the mediaequipment returns to the previous screen, and maintains a time item anda filtering condition which are criteria for arranging and displayingcontents in the previous screen.

The content arranging method according to the exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention has been described with reference to associateddrawings. Hereinafter, a content arranging apparatus according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to associated drawings.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a content arranging apparatusaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, the content arranging apparatus includes acontroller 1400, a touch screen 1410, a memory unit 1420, and acommunication unit 1430.

When a content display request is received from a user, the controller1400 extracts time information associated with a corresponding contentfrom meta data of each of stored contents, and classifies the contentsbased on the extracted time information and a time interval forarranging the contents. The controller 1400 determines at least one timeitem corresponding to the time interval for arranging the contents, andarranges each of the classified contents under a corresponding timeitem. The controller 1400 displays the time item on a set first displayarea of the touch screen 1410, and displays contents arranged tocorrespond to each time item on a set second display area of the touchscreen 1410. The controller 1400 recognizes a pinch motion of the userperformed on the touch screen 1410, and adjusts the time interval basedon the recognized information, and generates a time item based on theadjusted time interval.

The controller 1400 may receive a filtering condition used for arrangingonly contents desired by the user. The filtering condition may be inputby selecting a menu displayed on the display area. When the filteringcondition is input, the controller 1400 detects whether contentssatisfying the input filtering condition exist from among arrangedcontents, arranges only the contents satisfying the input filteringcondition from among the arranged contents under the time item, anddisplays the contents.

The controller 1400 may divide the time interval into a plurality ofsub-time intervals. Accordingly, the controller 1400 determines at leastone sub-time item corresponding to the sub-time interval. The controller1400 may arrange each sub-time item under a corresponding time item, andmay arrange each of classified contents under a corresponding sub-timeitem. In this example, the controller 1400 displays the time item on theset first display area of the touch screen 1410, and displays, on theset second display area of the touch screen 1410, the sub-time item andcontents corresponding to the sub-time item to correspond to the timeitem. When contents corresponding to the sub-time item are displayed,the controller 1400 may display each of the contents in a form of athumbnail or as an image in a form of a folder indicating that aplurality of contents exists in a corresponding sub-time item, based ona number of contents included in each sub-time item.

When one of a time item and a sub-time item is selected, the controller1400 may display contents corresponding to the selected item on a setdisplay area of the touch screen 1410 based on a set method. In thisexample, the set method has been described with reference to FIGS. 6Athrough 6C.

The controller 1400 may generate meta data associated with a creationtime of a corresponding content, a creation location, deviceinformation, and the like when the corresponding content is created.

The touch screen 1410 generates a control signal based on an input ofthe user, transfers the generated control signal to the controller 1400,and displays a screen based on a signal received from the controller1400.

The memory unit 1420 stores at least one content, and may store weatherinformation collected from an external server when weather is used as afiltering condition. When the face recognition technology is used as afiltering condition, the memory unit 1420 may store an algorithmassociated with face recognition. Also, the memory unit 1420 storesaddress information associated with at least one person, and the storedaddress information is used for face recognition. The addressinformation may include a picture of the corresponding person, and thelike.

The communication unit 1430 is used for collecting weather informationfrom a weather server of the Meteorological Office and the like.

The above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention maybe embodied in various methods. For example, exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention may be embodied as hardware, software or acombination of hardware and software. When the exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention are embodied as software, software that isimplemented in one or more processors using various operation systems orplatforms may be embodied. In addition, the software may be writtenusing one of a plurality of appropriate programming languages, or may becompiled to a machine code or an intermediate code implemented in aframe work or a virtual machine.

When the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are embodied inone or more processors, the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention may be embodied as a processor-readable medium that recordsone or more programs for executing the method embodying the variousembodiments of the present invention, for example, a memory, a floppydisk, a hard disk, a compact disc, an optical disc, a magnetic tape, andthe like.

While the present invention has been shown and described with referenceto certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device for displaying a pluralityof images stored in the electronic device, the electronic devicecomprising: a touch screen; a memory configured to store the pluralityof images and time information corresponding to each of the plurality ofimages; and at least one processor configured to: in response toreceiving a request for displaying the plurality of images stored in thememory, control to display, on the touch screen, the plurality of imagesclassified according to a first time interval based on the timeinformation, wherein a first time item corresponding to the first timeinterval is displayed on an interval display area of the touch screenand a thumbnail image of at least one image corresponding to the firsttime item is displayed on an image display area of the touch screen, andwherein the thumbnail image of at least one image corresponding to thefirst time item is of a predetermined first size, determine whether apinch gesture is input through the touch screen, and if the pinchgesture is input through the touch screen, control to display, on thetouch screen, the plurality of images classified according to a secondtime interval different from the first time interval, based on the timeinformation, wherein a second time item corresponding to the second timeinterval is displayed on an interval display area of the touch screenand a thumbnail image of at least one image corresponding to the secondtime item is displayed on an image display area of the touch screen, andwherein the thumbnail image of at least one image corresponding to thesecond time item is of a predetermined second size different from thepredetermined first size.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinthe first time interval or the second time interval comprises at leastone of a day, a month or a year.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: if thepinch gesture is a first pinch gesture which presses two points on thetouch screen using two fingers of a user and moves the two fingers inoutward directions, classify the stored plurality of images according tothe second time interval, based on the time information, wherein a timeinterval of the second time interval is a time interval decreased from atime interval of the first time interval.
 4. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: ifthe pinch gesture is a second pinch gesture which presses two points onthe touch screen using two fingers of a user and moves the two fingersin inward directions, classify the stored plurality of images accordingto the second time interval, based on the time information, wherein atime interval of the second time interval is a time interval increasedfrom a time interval of the first time interval.
 5. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of images comprises atleast one of a text, an audio, an image, an animation, and a videostored in the memory.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to: control to display, ona first area of the touch screen, at least one time item correspondingthe first time interval or the second time interval, and control todisplay, on a second area adjacent to the first area of the touchscreen, the at least one image corresponding the at least one time item.7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processoris further configured to: determine whether a swipe gesture is inputthrough the touch screen, and if the swipe gesture is input through thetouch screen, control to move according a direction of the swipegesture, on the touch screen, the at least one time item correspondingthe first time interval or the second time interval.
 8. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: determine whether a swipe gesture is input through thetouch screen, and if the swipe gesture is input through the touchscreen, control to move according a direction of the swipe gesture, onthe touch screen, the plurality of images classified according to thefirst time interval or the second time interval.
 9. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: determine whether an input corresponding to a selectionof a specific image from among the plurality of images is input throughthe touch screen, and if the input corresponding to the selection of thespecific image is input through the touch screen, control to display, onthe touch screen, only the selected specific image of the plurality ofimages classified according to the first time interval or the secondtime interval.